Scope and Content

Reports , 1896-1916 (incomplete).

Administrative / Biographical History

The union was founded in 1889 as the National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers. In 1916 it became the National Union of General Workers and in 1921 absorbed the National Federation of Women Workers. In 1924 it amalgamated with the National Amalgamated Union of Labour and the Municipal Employees' Association to form the National Union of General and Municipal Workers.

Reference: H.A. Clegg, General union in a changing society.Oxford, 1964

Conditions Governing Access

Access : Open.

Archivist's Note

An authority file exists for this corporate body (GB 152 AAR869).

The main archives of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union, including the boilermakers' section, remain with the union at its national college. Some records have, however, been transferred to the Working Class Movement Library, Salford : see Working Class Movement Library, Bulletin, no. 2 (1992), pp. 67-92, for a description of these records. Some records of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers are also held in the London Archive, Department of Politics, Queen Mary & Westfield College, London. The records of numerous textile unions are in the Lancashire Record Office. Other material, including some Blacksmiths' Society records, is held by the Centre.

Custodial History

The National Union of Gasworkers and General Labourers' papers form part of the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union archive. The initial deposit related to this archive was made in 1978 and accruals are listed under the entry for the General, Municipal, Boilermakers and Allied Trades Union (MSS.192/GMB) .